let the recital continue

Buffalo Bill's
 defunct
      who used to
      ride a watersmooth-silver
                               stallion
 and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
                                             Jesus
 he was a handsome man
                      and what I want to know is
 how do you like your blueeyed boy
 Mister Death

- E. E. Cummings

Another favorite. . .with apologies to Cummings for my poor formatting.

cow verse

The cow is of the bovine ilk;
one end is moo,
the other milk.

- Ogden Nash

Sometimes while hanging out with friends, I find myself talking at length about cows. On the occasion that I realize that my captive audience is no longer captive, I like to end abruptly by saying, "I know a poem about cows. Wanna hear it?" I then quote Mr. Nash; never getting the anticipated laughter response, but rather silence or questions like, "Ilk? You mean 'Elk,' right?"

i saw a man pursuing the horizon

I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they sped.
I was disturbed at this;
I accosted the man.
"It is futile," I said.
"You can never--"

"You lie," he cried,
And ran on.

- Stephen Crane